Thursday, August 31, 2017
Is Hezbollah stronger after its involvement in Syria?
ISIL fighters moved from northeast Lebanon to Syria as part of deal with Hezbollah and Syrian government forces.
Authorities in Lebanon say they may have found the remains of a group of soldiers kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in 2014.
This follows a ceasefire deal agreed on Sunday between the Lebanese army on one side and the Syrian government and Hezbollah forces on the other.
And as part of that deal, ISIL fighters revealed the whereabouts of the soldiers' remains.
The ceasefire allows ISIL fighters safe passage to Deir Az Zor in Syria - one of the few remaining pockets they still control.
This apparent coordination of the ceasefire indicates a closer relationship between Hezbollah, the Lebanese military and Syrian government forces.
Hezbollah has long been fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and many say this latest agreement has given it more political power.
Six In The Morning Thursday August 31
India floods: Mumbai building collapses as monsoon rains wreak havoc
Flooding across India, Nepal and Bangladesh has left parts of cities underwater with storm moving on to Pakistan, lashing the port of Karachi
At least seven people are dead and as many as 40 feared trapped after a building collapsed in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, as monsoon downpours continue to cause havoc across South Asia.
The four-storey residential building gave way on Thursday morning in the densely populated area of Bhendi Bazaar, after heavy rains turned roads into rivers.
Rescue workers, police and residents helped pull 13 people out of the rubble and were looking for those buried beneath. Authorities have advised people living in an adjacent building to vacate after it developed cracks following the collapse.
American men are taking advantage of legal loopholes to marry children as young as 12
The problem has affected as many as 200,000 children in the the US since 2000
Men in the United States are taking advantage of exceptions in state laws to marry minors at an alarming rate, leading to disastrous consequences for many girls who become trapped with little ability to fend for themselves.
In the majority of states, people need to be 18 years old in order to get married — but all but three states make parental or court exceptions to that rule leading a group of predominantly young girls into dangerous situations. And, contributing to those lax allowances are 25 states that have no statutory “floor”, meaning a child of any age can technically get married to an adult with certain permissions.
As a result, more than 200,000 children were married between 2000 and 2015, and many of those were young girls marrying adult men, according to new research from the Tahirih Justice Centre.
Spain's Muslims see hatred spike since Barcelona attacks
Until the Barcelona terrorist attacks, it seemed as if Spain were almost immune to anti-Islamic sentiments. But the number of Islamophobic incidents has increased dramatically since then, and Spanish Muslims are worried.
On the afternoon of the terrorist attack in Barcelona, Fatima El Himer, 17, and her sister Haffssa, 20, had gone shopping in the center of their hometown Granada. They were about to catch the bus back home when Fatima noticed a group of Spanish ladies talking about them.
"We overheard them say that it was a disgrace that we were out here shopping while in Barcelona people had died because of people like us," she says. "I was shocked. I had never heard anyone say anything like it before."
Court suspends controversial decree allowing mining on Amazon reserve
A Brazilian court on Wednesday suspended a controversial decree that would open up a huge natural reserve in the Amazon rainforest to commercial mining.
The federal court in the capital Brasilia said in a statement it had "partially granted an injunction to immediately suspend any administrative act" aimed at scrapping the Denmark-sized reserve, known as Renca.
The order signed by Judge Rolando Spanholo "suspends possible administrative acts based on the decree" signed by President Michel Temer.
The decision follows an outcry from environmental activists, celebrities and the Catholic Church in Brazil, among others.
US, South Korea fly bombers over Korean Peninsula
Updated 0821 GMT (1621 HKT) August 31, 2017
The US and South Korea have staged a joint show of force over the Korean Peninsula, two days after North Korea fired a missile over Japan.
Two B-1B bombers, four F-15 fighter jets and four F-35B fighter jets took part in the joint US-South Korean exercise, an official with the South Korean Air Force told CNN.
The exercise was designed to "strongly counter North Korea's repeated ballistic missile tests and development of nuclear weapons," the official said.
In a statement, the air force said four South Korean jets took part in the exercise alongside two US bombers flying out of Guam and four jets from a US Marine Corps base in Japan.
They conducted a mock air-to-ground bombing drill, which simulated a surgical strike of key enemy facilities, over the Pilseung Range in the eastern province of Gangwon.
Houston flood: 'No way to prevent' chemical plant blast
A chemical plant near the flooded US city of Houston is expected to explode and catch fire in the coming days.
During heavy rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, the Arkema plant at Crosby lost the ability to refrigerate chemical compounds that need to be kept cool.
There was no way to prevent an explosion, the company said.
At least 33 people have been killed in the aftermath of the storm, which the US National Weather Service has now downgraded to a tropical depression.
It has forecast continuing heavy rainfall over eastern Texas and western Louisiana.
US energy supplies have been hit, as oil companies shut down refineries in the Houston area.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Why Do Trumpers Think Obama Was President During Katrina?
"How come we never saw Obama helping Katrina victims?"
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 30, 2017
Maybe because in 2005 George W Bush was president 🤔 pic.twitter.com/9ApV4I604f
In case you missed it, there's a new trend on Twitter: complaining that Trump isn't getting enough credit for the "heckuva job" he's doing regarding Hurricane Harvey, especially since Obama failed so badly getting help to Katrina.
Being Rudely Awoken by a North Korean Missile
Here's one of the best comments: So North Korea's war with the sea continues......
Is Netanyahu changing rules around al-Aqsa Mosque?
Two members of the Israeli parliament visited the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Tuesday for the first time in two years.
Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, is the most contentious site in the occupied territory.
Two Israeli politicians visited the holy site on Tuesday for the first time in two years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allowed it as a test case for future visits.
That happened despite a ban put in by his own government in 2015 that prevents Israeli politicians from visiting the compound.
Al-Aqsa has been the centre of recent protests and violence after Israel installed, then removed metal detectors following the shooting of two policemen.
Six In The Morning Wednesday August 30
Houston floods: Night curfew bid to stop robbery and looting
The US city of Houston has declared a night-time curfew as it battles the impact of Hurricane Harvey.
The storm has dumped record rainfall, leaving large parts of the city underwater, homes destroyed and over 20 people reported dead.
Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said the curfew was needed to head off looting in America's fourth most populous city.
President Donald Trump visited Texas on Tuesday to survey the damage brought by Harvey, calling the storm "epic".
The curfew will run from 00:00-05:00 local time (05:00-10:00 GMT) for an indefinite period. Relief volunteers, first responders, and those going to and from work are exempt.North Korea's Kim Jong-un says missile launch a prelude to 'containing Guam'
UN security council unanimously condemns launch and demands Pyongyang halt its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes
North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has warned that Tuesday’s missile launch over Japan was a “meaningful prelude to containing” the US Pacific territory of Guam, adding that his regime would conduct more ballistic missile tests.
North Korea confirmed the test hours before the UN security council unanimously condemned the launch and repeated demands that Pyongyang halt its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes.
The 15-member council described North Korea’s actions as “outrageous” and called for the full implementation of tough sanctions agreed less than a month ago. But it did not recommend fresh measures against the regime, and said it remained committed to a peaceful solution to the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula.
Dream of Europe turns deadly at Bulgaria's border
The journey to Europe by a family of Iraqi refugees ended in tragedy after Bulgarian officials blocked their path. Trifa's story illustrates the human cost of closing borders. Dimitar Ganev reports.
When 30-year-old Trifa Kader Sedeeq embarked on her arduous trip from Iraq to the EU in search of asylum, she had no idea that the quest would cost the lives of three people she loves: Her husband, brother and sister-in-law froze to death in the snow near the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
Trifa Kader's family comes from Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, which in recent years has been shaken by suicide bombings. Still, compared to other parts of Iraq, the city is considered a relatively safe zone.
However, Trifa's husband, Najad, and her brother Rebwar, who worked as journalists for the Iraqi newspaper Hawlati, found themselves the targets of government repression, she says. Hawlati apparently closed around two years ago.
Rouhani: Saudis 'should stop backing terrorists'
Kingdom's policies in Yemen and Syria described as main hurdles to improving ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has accused the country's rival Saudi Arabia of backing terrorists in Yemen's war, according to state TV.
Saudi Arabia and Iran compete for influence in the Middle East, where they support rival groups in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
"Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen and their support of terrorists in Yemen and Syria are main hurdles to improve ties between Tehran and Riyadh. Saudi Arabia should stop backing terrorists," Rouhani told state TV on Tuesday.
KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED and his nephew Ammar al-Baluchi donned new Baluchi hats last week for the 24th round of pretrial hearings in the military commission case against the five men accused in the 9/11 attacks.
A small group of media representatives and non-governmental observers, family members of five people who died at the World Trade Center, and a survivor of the Ground Zero recovery cleanup were witnesses to the week-long proceedings, as prosecution and defense argued over procedural issues involving document declassification and weighty issues involving legality of the death penalty charges against the defendants, and the destruction, most likely between July 2014 and December 2015, of a CIA black site where at least one of the men was tortured.
Sea Shepherd pulls plug on campaign to disrupt Japan whale hunt
Activist group Sea Shepherd on Tuesday pulled the plug on its annual campaign to disrupt Japanese whaling, saying it can no longer match the country's military and economic power.
The organisation has waged a 12-year high-seas battle against whaling in the Southern Ocean, claiming success for saving thousands of the giant mammals and bringing the slaughter to world attention.
But the group's founder Paul Watson said his ships would not sail this year, with different strategies and tactics needed to hinder the hunt.
"What we discovered is that Japan is now employing military surveillance to watch Sea Shepherd ship movements in real-time by satellite and if they know where our ships are at any given moment, they can easily avoid us," he said in a statement.
"We cannot compete with their military-grade technology."
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Investigating Katrina: Lessons learned from the storm
Over a decade after the historic storm, we investigate what went wrong and plans for future prevention and control.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina claimed 1,800 lives, leaving 80 percent of New Orleans devastated and under water. Only one line of defence, the levee, failed the city. Since the disastrous storm hit, there have been concerted efforts to reduce risks from another possible Katrina.
The Army Corps of Engineers has been responsible for the city's structural defence since the 1920s. Mike Park, chief of operations, explains that after Katrina, a more robust defence system - the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) - was built.
SIx In The Morning Tuesday August 29
'Missile passing': Japan wakes to ominous warning about North Korean launch
Sirens blared out, trains stopped and residents took cover as a ballistic missile fired by North Korea it soared over Japanese territory for two minutes
It’s pretty clear that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn’t like cartoonists. In 2005, a cartoonist at the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet named Musa Kart was taken to court and ultimately fined 5,000 Turkish pounds (equivalent to roughly €2,300) after he portrayed Erdogan as a cat. In 2016, Kart and his colleagues at Cumhuriyet were accused of assisting terrorist groups. Kart was detained for nine months before being released on July 29.
Against a backdrop of growing curtailment of freedom of expression within Turkey, this small but dedicated group of cartoonists continue to call out the government for its abuses and celebrate the few movements of resistance. The FRANCE 24 Observers spoke with three young cartoonists, each with his or her own distinctive style, about the anxieties and hopes that come part and parcel with this profession under threat.
Sirens blared out, trains stopped and residents took cover as a ballistic missile fired by North Korea it soared over Japanese territory for two minutes
Millions of Japanese awoke to ominous text messages on Tuesday warning them to take cover as a North Korean missile flew overhead, with one train operator bluntly explaining its halted service as “Reason: Ballistic missile launch.”
Sirens blared out in northern communities that were on the flight path of the ballistic missile as it soared over Japanese territory for two minutes before crashing into the Pacific.
“Missile passing. Missile passing.” warned an official text message sent to people across the north of Japan.
“A short time ago, a missile apparently passed above this area.
British volunteer fighting against Isis in Raqqa says it is a 'matter of time' before Islamic State falls
Exclusive: Macer Gifford, 30, says he will lay down weapons once group's de-facto capital is retaken
“Fighting Isis was the only thing that was ever going to get me to pick up a rifle,” says Macer Gifford*, a 30-year-old former finance worker.
“A group that kills women and children, butchers gay people by throwing them off buildings and does the most horrible and unspeakable things ... I had to fight them.”
Mr Gifford, who uses a pseudonym to protect his identity, is speaking to The Independent from the frontline of the battle for Raqqa, Isis’ de-facto capital and largest remaining stronghold in Syria.
In Turkey, cartoonists are calling out the government despite harsh censorship laws
Cem Dinlenmiş
Despite strict censorship in Turkey, young Turkish political cartoonists are taking a brave stand by creating work about the government’s veer toward authoritarianism in recent years. Using humour and poetry, they try to resist censorship and threats from the government, and create a space for free speech online.It’s pretty clear that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn’t like cartoonists. In 2005, a cartoonist at the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet named Musa Kart was taken to court and ultimately fined 5,000 Turkish pounds (equivalent to roughly €2,300) after he portrayed Erdogan as a cat. In 2016, Kart and his colleagues at Cumhuriyet were accused of assisting terrorist groups. Kart was detained for nine months before being released on July 29.
Against a backdrop of growing curtailment of freedom of expression within Turkey, this small but dedicated group of cartoonists continue to call out the government for its abuses and celebrate the few movements of resistance. The FRANCE 24 Observers spoke with three young cartoonists, each with his or her own distinctive style, about the anxieties and hopes that come part and parcel with this profession under threat.
GOV. JERRY BROWN’S DRAFT “SANCTUARY” BILL CREATES NEW ROUTES FOR ICE IN CALIFORNIA
AFTER DONALD TRUMP’S election, California Gov. Jerry Brown pledged to lead the resistance to the president’s anti-immigrant policies. “You don’t want to mess with California,” he said in March, when Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if California became the first “sanctuary state.” “I’m not going to just turn over our police department to become agents of the federal government as they deport women and children and people who are contributing to the economic well-being of our state, which they are.”
Now, California is moving toward “sanctuary state” status. Senate Bill 54 — designed to bar local law enforcement from using resources to aid federal immigration agents — is moving through the legislature. But a draft of amendments to the bill authored by Brown’s office and obtained by The Intercept indicate that the hope of defending California’s immigrant population, the largest in the nation, from Trump’s long reach may be in danger.
Harvey, Already a ‘Landmark Event,’ Threatens Round Two
by
At least three deaths in Texas have been blamed on Hurricane Harvey — and the storm system is expected to make landfall again sometime this week, forecasters said as torrents of water continued to cripple the region.
"This is a landmark event for Texas," said Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "Texas has never seen an event like this."
The Weather Channel warned that "localized storm-total rain amounts of up to 50 inches are not out of the question" by later this week. "This may end up being one of the worst flood disasters in U.S. history," it added.
Brazil lawsuit accuses Jagath Jayasuriya of war crimes
Lawyers seek to expel Jagath Jayasuriya, ambassador to Brazil, over abuses in final phase of offensive against LTTE.
Human rights groups in South America have filed war crimes lawsuits against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his country's ambassador to Brazil.
The lawsuits against Jagath Jayasuriya allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009.
Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in Brazil and five other countries where he is ambassador - Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname.
Monday, August 28, 2017
Mongolia: Born To Ride
In Mongolia, child jockeys are dying and suffering painful injuries in some of the world's longest horse races.
Mongolia's horse races are long, fast and furious.
And their riders are incredibly young.
Five-year-old Babu is excited to join the ranks of 30,000 other child jockeys who take part in races across the country. He's been training for months for his debut.
The law requires jockeys to be at least seven years old and wear safety equipment. But in rural areas, this is rarely enforced.
And it comes at a cost. When the children fall, they suffer painful injuries and sometimes, even death.
Six In The Morning Monday August 28
Storm Harvey: Houston battles 'unprecedented' floods
The US city of Houston is in the grip of the biggest storm in the history of the state of Texas, officials say.
A record 30in of rain (75cm) has fallen on the city in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, turning roads into rivers.
The area is expected to have received a year's rainfall within a week. Five people are reported dead. Helicopters have plucked victims from rooftops.
With rescue services overstretched as the rain continues, many people are having to fend for themselves.
Harvey made landfall as a category-four hurricane late on Friday. It was later downgraded to a tropical storm.
Aung Sang Suu Kyi's office accuses aid workers of helping 'terrorists' in Myanmar
Human rights groups say Suu Kyi must stop ‘profoundly irresponsible’ accusations which could prove deadly amid violence in Rakhine state
Aung San Suu Kyi’s office has accused international aid workers of helping “terrorists”, a claim that has prompted fears for their safety and been condemned as dangerously irresponsible.
The state counsellor office said it had learned that international aid staff had “participated while extremist terrorists besieged” a village in Rakhine state, adding it would investigate the claims.
The office, headed by Suu Kyi who is the country’s de facto leader, also posted a photo of United Nations world food programme biscuits which it said were found on 30 July “at the camp where terrorists sheltered”.
Charlotte OBERTI , correspondent in New York
Hamburg's G20 trials open up political can of worms
The first G20-related trials against protesters detained during the summit are set to get underway this week. As Rob Mudge reports, the cases in question are courting a great deal of controversy.
Bringing the G20 summit to Hamburg this June was Chancellor Angela Merkel's idea of presenting the city as the "gateway to the world" - a special welcome to world leaders. Instead the violent events that transpired left the city bidding visitors "welcome to hell" - the motto of one of the protests organized by one of the autonomous, anti-capitalist alliances
Now, the first trials against suspected participants are set to get underway at Hamburg's regional court.
Stanislav B, a 24-year-old art student from Poland, was stopped and checked by police outside Hamburg Dammtor train station. In his backpack police discovered a number of firecrackers and a canister that could - potentially - have been used as a teargas cylinder.
Doctors in the dock as US tackles national opioid crisis
Charlotte OBERTI , correspondent in New York
In the United States, opioid addiction has become a national health emergency. Now the doctors accused of over-prescribing the dangerous painkillers are being brought to justice. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look.
“You are, in my opinion, the worst sort of drug dealer,” West Virginia federal court Judge Irene C. Berger told a defendant at his sentencing hearing on Wednesday. “You poured thousands of prescription opiates into the streets, to people you knew weren’t taking them as prescribed.”
Dr. Michael Kostenko was handed a 20-year sentence for prescribing oxycodone to patients whose health issues did not warrant the powerful painkiller, derived from opium and known to create strong physical and psychological addiction. The prescriptions led to the overdose deaths of two of his patients.
The exploitation in Pakistan's music industry is really appalling: Zeb Bangash
Zeb was expected to be part of Coke Studio 10, but we see her in Pepsi Battle of the Bands instead. She tells us why
Zeb Bangash has played a vital part in popularising Coke Studio, with tracks like 'Paimona Bitte', 'Chup' and 'Rona Chor Diya' - performed with her cousin Haniya as Zeb & Haniya - serving as some of the music show's earliest massive hits.
It wasn't surprising then to hear word of her impending debut as composer on Coke Studio 10. Yet, for reasons unclear, Zeb is absent from the ongoing season. Instead, she joins Meesha Shafi, Atif Aslam and Fawad Khan this year at Pepsi’s Battle of the Bands as a guest musician.
In conversation with Images, the acclaimed singer-songwriter dishes on why she'd had to jump ship. Read on:
As the caliphate crumbles, Taliban steals ISIS' tactics to target women
Updated 0728 GMT (1528 HKT) August 28, 2017
A glossy women's magazine has hit virtual newsstands, its front cover splashed with the image of a woman, veiled from head to toe, walking off into a yellow-hued desert.
But, unlike other fashion or beauty publications, this one has a niche audience in mind: would-be female jihadists.
The English-language magazine -- which debuted online but in a print-style format -- was published by the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), earlier this month without much fanfare.
The first edition of Sunnat E Khaula, which harks back to a seventh-century female Muslim warrior named Khaula, calls on "like-minded jihadi sisters" to organize "secret gatherings at home," arrange "physical training classes" and "prepare for martyrdom operations."
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